\nPhoto \/ RNZ, Matthew Theunissen<\/p>\n
\u201cNo one\u2019s even sending rejections, they\u2019re just leaving you empty,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She\u2019s going to work on her parents\u2019 blueberry farm while she continues to look for work in her chosen field.<\/p>\n
After four years of hard graft, Vittoria Strother is delighted to be graduating with a Bachelor of Advanced Science, Psychology, but not so delighted with the state of the job market.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just not very promising, is it? You know, you spend all that time trying to study and then, there\u2019s not much out there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Occasionally she\u2019ll get a response to an application, but mostly she just gets \u201cghosted\u201d.<\/p>\n
And, she said, she has to be innovative to get her CV past the AI bots she believes are screening her applications.<\/p>\n
\u201c[I use] lots of key words that they\u2019d be looking for. Just like, \u2018resourceful\u2019, \u2018adaptive\u2019 – whatever you think they might like.\u201d<\/p>\n
Abby Brooking has been looking for a job since April after completing a post-graduate diploma in primary teaching.
\nPhoto \/ RNZ, Matthew Theunissen<\/p>\n
Vittoria\u2019s mum, Alison, worries what the future holds for her daughter and her generation.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you see her send off about 40, 50 applications and get maybe three replies, it\u2019s terrifying for her.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not a waste of time because you\u2019ve learned so much, but will she be able to use it? Or is it more study?\u201d<\/p>\n
Not to mention the money \u2013 \u201ctoo much money to even think about\u201d, Vittoria said.<\/p>\n
Abby Brooking has been looking for a job since April, having completed a postgraduate diploma in primary teaching.<\/p>\n
\u201cI went into this field because I thoroughly enjoy education and I think there\u2019s something to be said about making a difference for future generations, but I am struggling to find a job at the moment,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cConsidering the Government is saying that they\u2019re crying out for teachers, like they are for nurses as well, I think it is because the schools and the hospitals aren\u2019t giving opportunities to people without experience and they\u2019re taking on people with experience instead.\u201d<\/p>\n
RNZ also spoke to a number of international students who had wanted to stay on to work here but say they\u2019re lucky if their applications even get a response. Emma He is moving back to China where she has been able to find work, having completed a degree in information technology.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think maybe I can gain some work experience in China and then come back here. I want to because I have a three-year work visa.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rosa Kwon has just completed a conjoint degree in law and arts.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople did tell me that it wasn\u2019t going to be easy but I didn\u2019t really believe it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m really seeing it now – it\u2019s not easy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Artificial intelligence is expected to have a big impact on graduates wanting to get into the legal profession, something Kwon has certainly noticed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve had interviews where they\u2019ve asked me, \u2018do you use AI?\u2019 and as a non-AI user they\u2019ve told me, \u2018Well, we expect some level of AI usage\u2019. It\u2019s pretty shocking.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rob Deacon, who\u2019s graduating with a Masters in Information Technology, feels very fortunate because he secured an internship, which resulted in a job offer.<\/p>\n
Veronika Kanem who has just completed a PhD in Pacific Studies is also struggling to find a job. Photo \/ RNZ, Matthew Theunissen<\/p>\n
\u201cIn previous years I think pretty much everyone on the course got an internship but now it\u2019s a lot more tricky. I think out of our entire course, I think 20 people got one [out of] maybe 150.\u201d<\/p>\n
Veronika Kanem has just completed a PhD in Pacific Studies \u2013 a degree she started in 2021. It\u2019s tough in the academic workspace, too, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHonestly, it\u2019s very hard. I tried to apply for post-doctoral several times but I wasn\u2019t successful. Apart from the academic environment I also tried to apply for other roles but wasn\u2019t successful,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
According to employment website Seek, advertisements for graduate jobs made up just over 2% of the overall share of jobs on the site last month.<\/p>\n
It said the unemployment rate in New Zealand is high by historical standards, so grads are competing with other grads as well as those with work experience.<\/p>\n
Student Job Search chief executive Louise Saviker said New Zealand\u2019s labour market remains challenging, particularly for young people. However, there are tentative signs of improvement in employer demand, with MBIE\u2019s Jobs Online measure showing online job advertisements increasing 7% over the year to June 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cNo one\u2019s even sending rejections, they\u2019re just leaving you empty,\u201d she said. She\u2019s going to work on her…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":616745,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[53688,4442,2550,2082,23935,3112,3369,117,111,43,139,7805,69,48211,303821,10715,3466,248481],"class_list":["post-616744","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-bleak","tag-climate","tag-even","tag-for","tag-graduates","tag-job","tag-matthew","tag-new","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-no","tag-nz","tag-ones","tag-rejections","tag-remains","tag-sending","tag-theunissen"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/616744","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=616744"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/616744\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/616745"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=616744"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=616744"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=616744"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}